SUPPLEMENTARY HINTS. 
that the vets. have become more observant. But 
owners should remember that their dogs cannot 
speak and tell them when ailing, and as kidney 
trouble must be taken in time if it is to be cured 
at all, they should mark the first deviations from 
natural staling, the colour and quantity of urine, 
etc., and, if anything seems to be wrong, consult 
the skilled vet. _ 
Good nursing is half the battle when the dog is 
ill. The following simple hints, if acted on, will 
greatly aid in restoring a sick animal to health. 
The temperature of the sick-room should be 
about 60 degrees. This can be secured in winter 
by a fire, which will also help to ventilate the 
room. In summer the apartment may be kept 
cool by ventilation. 
A sick dog ought to be kept from his com- 
panions. An outdoor dog may be taken into the 
house. 
He should have low diet at first: Beef-tea, 
Bovril, eggs, a little raw meat, invalid food 
(Spratts’), wine if needed, etc. The motto must 
be the old one of little and often, and by night 
as well as by day. A nurse must never for a 
moment weary of well doing. 
Study cleanliness in everything. A bottle of 
strong permanganate of potash should always 
be kept in a sick-room, and the water used in 
cleaning the eyes and teeth or wiping away any 
discharge should be first well reddened with this 
solution. 
Watch the temperature by means of the clinical 
thermometer. 
Ventilation or fresh air is a sine qua non. 
Never worry the dog by talking too much to 
him, or giving him undesirable attentions or pet- 
ting. Do not worry yourself either. 
A clean, not too soft, bed, and one that can be 
easily changed. 
Disinfectants.—These are useful in many ways, 
and we have good ones, such as solution of car- 
bolic acid, Jeyes’, Sanitas, Izal, Pearson’s, etc. 
But science has now proved that the great bulk 
of so-called disinfectants are simply deodorisers, 
and have no germ-killing power at all. More- 
over, their use often does harm, because people 
imagine they can take the place of cleanli- 
ness. Garden soap and boiling water should be 
used for all kennels, the disinfectant to be used 
afterwards. 
Dogs in Old Age.—As a dog gets old he ought 
to have less work to do and get more care. Not 
that he is to be coddled—coddling kills man or 
beast—but he needs protection from the weather 
and cold, and better diet, though less of it, and 
far more kindness and consideration. He has 
been faithful and true, a real friend, and he 
deserves our especial sympathy when age over- 
takes him. Twenty years mark, perhaps, the ex- 
treme span of a dog’s life. Fourteen is the aver- 
age. Bulldogs nowadays seldom live to see their 
eighth year. 
The Lethal Chamber ?—Certainly not for an 
old and valued friend. There is the sending him 
619 
away among strangers—the parting with the poor 
fellow, which in such a case is certainly not 
“sweet sorrow.” He is handed over to perfect 
strangers, to whom he is “only a dog.” Above 
all, there is the dog’s own grief to be considered, 
which is bitterer far, probably, than the pain of 
death itself. No; let your old friend have your 
kindness, attention, and sympathy to the very 
last, and let him die with your hand on his brow. 
The Medicine Cupboard—I am very much 
opposed to the giving of too much medicine to 
either dog or human being. Physic should never 
take the place of well-chosen food, which, with 
rest, quiet, cleanliness, and freedom from excite- 
ment, will often restore a dog to health when 
nothing else could. Many imagine that when 
they give a dog a dose of medicine they have done 
their duty by him, and so may have an easy con- 
science. They have not half done it. 
But a medicine chest, such as that of Spratts’ 
Patent,* is invaluable in the house, more especi- 
ally if one lives far away from veterinary aid. I 
always advise the calling in of a skilled vet. 
when such services can be procured, and the 
earlier this is done the better. But an ignorant 
young vet. who treats his patient by rule of 
thumb, as too many do, is useless and a fraud. 
Nevertheless, every dog-owner should be his own 
deg’s physician, and know a little about the sort 
of drugs and appliances to place in his medicine 
cupboard. Accidents and illnesses come when 
least expected. 
The medicine cupboard itself should always 
be kept locked, and the key labelled and hung 
in a handy place. It and all its contents should 
be kept not only clean, but chemically clean, 
and before any instrument is used it should be 
sterilised with a solution of carbolic acid. After 
use it should be most carefully cleaned and 
disinfected. 
Almost every article of either food or physic, 
then, that is used for human beings may be 
requisitioned for our friend the dog, and the poor 
fellow should not only be the better for our 
religion, as the great Norman Macleod averred, 
but the better for our knowledge of science. 
As to foods for the sick, my advice is never to 
keep them long in stock, but get them fresh; 
and, luckily for ourselves and our dogs, foods 
are fairly cheap. 
The greatest friend to the dog in the world is 
Spratts’ Patent, and from their marvellous fac- 
tory is always emanating something new. They 
head the list with their invalid food and biscuits, 
* Contents of Spratts’ Kennel Medicine Chest.—Mange 
lotion, eczema lotion, sprain liniment, diarrhoea mixture, hair 
stimulant, lucurium for wounds or festering sores, chemical food, 
cure for ear canker, purging pills, tonic pills, cough pills, dis- 
temper pills, styptic pills, cure for jaundice, vermifuge for puppies, 
pills for rheumatism, distemper powders, cooling powders, worm 
powders, chronic skin disease cure, caustic, bandages, lint, cotton 
wool, scissors, lancet, silk thread, tweezers, and suture needles, 
There ought also to be a clinical thermometer. 
Sherley’s dog medicines can also be recommended, and 
Nicholas’ Ruby remedy for worms is particularly valuable, 
